Welcome to National Qualifications.

The guide to courses taught in Scotland's secondary schools and further education colleges. National Qualifications include Standard Grade and national courses and units at Access, Intermediate, Higher and Advanced Higher.

Standard Grade
You usually take Standard Grades in S3 and S4 when you are aged 14 to 16. You can take them at three levels:
• Foundation (Grades 5 and 6);
• General (Grades 3 and 4); and
• Credit level (Grades 1 and 2).
You normally take exams at two levels at the end of S4 (Credit and General or General and Foundation). You can take Standard Grades only in secondary school.

Access
These are starter courses for young people and adults. There are three Access levels. Level 3 is roughly the same level as Standard Grade Foundation. You do not have to sit exams at the end of Access courses. Your work is assessed by the class teacher or lecturer.

Intermediate 1
You usually take these courses if you:
• have finished Standard Grade Foundation (or Access 3) level; or
• want to take an alternative to Standard Grade General level; or
• want to take up a new subject at school or college.
Generally, three national units (blocks of work that usually take 40 hours to finish) plus 40 hours flexible time make up these courses.

Intermediate 2
You usually take these courses if you:
• have finished Standard Grade General level; or
• want to take an alternative to Standard Grade Credit level; or
• want to take up a new subject at school or college.
Generally, three national units (blocks of work that usually take 40 hours to finish) plus 40 hours flexible time make up these courses.

Higher
You usually take Highers in S5 and S6, or at college, if you have reached Standard Grade Credit (or Intermediate 2) level. You normally need Highers to get into higher education courses (degrees, Higher National Diplomas and Higher National Certificates) at university or college.

Advanced Higher
You would usually take Advanced Highers in S6, or college, if you have passed Highers. These replaced the old Certificate of Sixth Year Studies (CSYS).

Core Skills
There are five core skills: communication, information technology, numeracy, problem-solving and working with others. These are the skills you will need to get the most out of learning, working and living.

They are built into national units and national courses, so you don’t need to sit extra assessments. However, you can also study them as ‘stand-alone’ units.